Sony's Rare Micro Laptop From 2002! (Vaio PCG U1)

Ғылым және технология

Today we're taking a look at a rare Japan exclusive Sony Vaio laptop, the PCG-U1 (PCG-1A1N). This tiny palm sized notebook came out in 2002 and wasn't cheap to say the least! A big thank you to Douglas here in Adelaide for lending me the device. Let's take a look at it 22 years later :) #Sony #vaio #laptop
► Check out the K1 Max keyboard here: www.keychron.com/products/key...
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Sony Vaio PCG U1 Specifications:
867MHz Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 processor
6.4" 1024 x 768 Display
368MB PC-133 Ram (128MB + 256MB Expansion)
ATI Mobility Radeon M6 8MB GPU
1.8" Mechanical Hard Disk
► Interesting Advertisement for the U1: www.sony.jp/products/Consumer...
► Info on the Transmeta CPU: www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/TM5800...

Пікірлер: 236

  • @psivewri
    @psivewri4 ай бұрын

    I hope you enjoy this video. The next one will be about one of the BIGGEST laptops ever made... I hope you're ready for that one :)

  • @yougotgamesonyourphone5643

    @yougotgamesonyourphone5643

    4 ай бұрын

    Nah, its average

  • @HrLBolle

    @HrLBolle

    4 ай бұрын

    post luggable era? Hasn't LTT featured a "Laptop" that made the old timey look comfy to sit on your lap? The one with the detachable keyboard

  • @nickthaskater

    @nickthaskater

    4 ай бұрын

    Need more tiny things

  • @Animalmother80

    @Animalmother80

    4 ай бұрын

    Dell XPS M2010 incoming...

  • @adityakhullarextras

    @adityakhullarextras

    4 ай бұрын

    I guess the Predator 21x???

  • @VW_Fan
    @VW_Fan4 ай бұрын

    I work with Douglas and had the pleasure of having a look at this laptop when it first arrived. Certainly something unique!

  • @Kbyte27
    @Kbyte274 ай бұрын

    I saw God a moment there when he says "Ka..WaA..iii!"

  • @monum
    @monum4 ай бұрын

    I still have my U3 in working condition. It's an amazing, albeit slow, piece of tech. The Japanese specifically used these tiny pc's on the road. While standing up in subways/metros made this device easy to handle with those mouse buttons and joystick + text input on that orange pad. The pc card slot could be used for wifi card or cellular. Picked the U3 up second hand in 2005 for about 650 euro. I used it primarily for parttime school, easy to pack for a weekend away. Also fun to play some games on. Did a ton of Settlers 2 on it. Mine came also with an external cd-rom drive.

  • @2007excalibur2007
    @2007excalibur20074 ай бұрын

    4:29 the button there quite literally says "sutanbai" (standby). knowing how to read kana helps with dealing with japanese electronics in general - it's how they write foreign (mainly english) words with japanese characters.

  • @Animalmother80

    @Animalmother80

    4 ай бұрын

    Sometimes Google lens + translate also does a fine job

  • @Sand2Go

    @Sand2Go

    4 ай бұрын

    Was just about to comment this, but I knew someone else would have got it by now.

  • @kaitlyn__L

    @kaitlyn__L

    4 ай бұрын

    @@Sand2GoI knew someone would’ve said it, but I just made one anyway. Partly so I could also ramble about the ようこそ Welcome screen lol

  • @kaitlyn__L

    @kaitlyn__L

    4 ай бұрын

    I do always find it amusing when transliterated English baffles tech reviewers. My favourite instance is probably still a hifi guy saying they’re “all labelled in Japanese” on a radio/amplifier (IIRC) remote control, when literally all of it was transliterated English. Volume, channel, power, etc. All katakana. Usually at least a couple are in kanji, especially power, but not in this case!

  • @ComboBreakerHD
    @ComboBreakerHD4 ай бұрын

    This was the golden era of personal electronics. I absolutely loved everything Sony Clié, I went through a couple of UX50.. Also had the mobile phones, P900, p910i. Haven't had that same feeling since.

  • @mesicek7

    @mesicek7

    4 ай бұрын

    I really hope you used those Symbian phones to it's full potential.

  • @hanes2
    @hanes24 ай бұрын

    This channel turning into ThisDoesNotCompute 😅

  • @nickthaskater

    @nickthaskater

    4 ай бұрын

    I'm here for it

  • @emdotrod

    @emdotrod

    4 ай бұрын

    A blend of TDNC and Garbage Time

  • @Kmzhr

    @Kmzhr

    4 ай бұрын

    And that’s great 😃

  • @_tomch

    @_tomch

    4 ай бұрын

    Not enough recapping and 3D printed screw mounts

  • @blakegriplingph

    @blakegriplingph

    4 ай бұрын

    But with more eucalyptus oil

  • @DMCluxury
    @DMCluxury3 ай бұрын

    I had one , in Hong Kong around 2003. Vividly remember that I connected via Bluetooth (not sure it was optional or built in) to my Ericsson phone in the subway (MTR) and surfed the internet. I was feeling like looking into the future back then - and i certainly was , if we consider portable computers - mobile phone, are now the standard in subways in Hong Kong and around the world. Thanks for this review!

  • @lbnFadl

    @lbnFadl

    2 ай бұрын

    That is so cool. Thanks for sharing

  • @DMCluxury

    @DMCluxury

    2 ай бұрын

    @@lbnFadl welcome, glad you like it 👍🏻

  • @ThatTonybo
    @ThatTonybo4 ай бұрын

    My Vaio also has that start jingle, it's so adorable

  • @rollingtroll
    @rollingtroll4 ай бұрын

    Such a beautifully build little thing. Love it! Looking forward to future videos of this series!

  • @wertywerrtyson5529
    @wertywerrtyson55294 ай бұрын

    Great to see you again. I need my Eucalyptus oil fix and you are the only provider 😂

  • @ActionRetro
    @ActionRetro4 ай бұрын

    It's adorable

  • @mitsukirei
    @mitsukirei4 ай бұрын

    懐かしい。きれいな個体がまだあるなんて奇跡だ!

  • @MsMRkv

    @MsMRkv

    4 ай бұрын

    Ikr

  • @kobalt_ren01
    @kobalt_ren013 ай бұрын

    That font on the keys with the blue and orange highlights on a blue/grey background is very much my jam!

  • @harryshuman9637
    @harryshuman96373 ай бұрын

    That feeling when you advertise a keyboard brand I use myself and can confirm it's pretty good.

  • @CJT3X
    @CJT3X3 ай бұрын

    PLEASE someone make a new machine in this style... it's adorable!

  • @dougtube9075
    @dougtube90754 ай бұрын

    Amazing review Nathan, you nailed it again ;)

  • @benny21293
    @benny212934 ай бұрын

    Magic Gate was a DRM thingy from sony used on MemoryStick and the PS2 Memory Cards. It‘s not the flash format. There are MemorySticks and PS2 Memory Cards without MagicGate support. It‘s to compete with the „Secure“ DRM part of SD Cards

  • @skubeeraw
    @skubeeraw4 ай бұрын

    gpd win 2 drew heavy inspirations from this.

  • @DanielTimberwolf

    @DanielTimberwolf

    3 ай бұрын

    I got more GPD win max vibes

  • @CorneliousRR
    @CorneliousRR4 ай бұрын

    Hey! Just leaving a comment so the algorithm knows I want to see your content in the future. I've been subbed for a long time but your content rarely hits my front page! Thankfully today was different. Always charming to see your videos! Randomly while watching this, I got it in my head that your channel gives off LGR vibes for obvious reasons, but also I now have a head canon that you're LGR's nephew from Australia XD

  • @tsymeh
    @tsymeh4 ай бұрын

    1:51 that jingle is amazing

  • @nerd2544

    @nerd2544

    4 ай бұрын

    dear god the instagram meme calculator profile picture brainrot has spread

  • @CafeNervoza
    @CafeNervoza4 ай бұрын

    That start-up jingle was really cool!

  • @nR-kv7xo
    @nR-kv7xo4 ай бұрын

    this is absolutely stunning

  • @user-jm3ti1kg8n
    @user-jm3ti1kg8nАй бұрын

    Great work true legendary man never forgot ❤

  • @OliourRahmanDigonto
    @OliourRahmanDigonto4 ай бұрын

    Man love your videos 😊, please don't make wait us for videos for eternity 😢

  • @user-oh4cc4bq2j
    @user-oh4cc4bq2j3 ай бұрын

    A long awaited video

  • @user-jm3ti1kg8n
    @user-jm3ti1kg8n3 ай бұрын

    Great work great channel❤

  • @hugosimoes5119
    @hugosimoes51194 ай бұрын

    The jingle at 1:51 is usually present on Sony laptops. I don't know any manufacturer (besides Apple) that has such feature.

  • @schizophrenicgaming365

    @schizophrenicgaming365

    4 ай бұрын

    ASUS ROG

  • @OverTallman

    @OverTallman

    4 ай бұрын

    Lenovo B/G/Z laptops in the early 2010s have animated POST screen and jingles too

  • @TrusteftTech
    @TrusteftTech4 ай бұрын

    I LOOOOOOOVE the external battery compartment. So much safer if something goes wrong with the battery. Others wanted a Macbook, I wanted a Sony Vaio laptop. Unfortunately never got one. Still annoyed they sold Vaio.

  • @lazartazer
    @lazartazer2 ай бұрын

    This is probably the best tech channel to ever exist

  • @T3CHGY007
    @T3CHGY0074 ай бұрын

    What a neat little pc! Funny how innovative tech was back then, and now now so much! they could learn a thing or two from old tech from back then!

  • @kaitlyn__L
    @kaitlyn__L4 ай бұрын

    As someone who can read the Japanese syllabaries, but doesn’t have very much kanji under my belt (I’m at like a 3rd grade level) it will always amuse me when baffling Japanese buttons are actually labelled in transliterated English. That standby button is literally labelled “stan-bai”, just as the Start button in XP says “staato”. However, at least the Welcome screen is an actual Japanese word - youkoso, which is more like how you’re welcomed to an office than welcomed back home. Which changes the tone for me, because I personally always viewed the Welcome screen as welcoming me back home. But for office use, _youkoso_ is certainly far more appropriate.

  • @flibblemarutan
    @flibblemarutan4 ай бұрын

    I used to own one! A few years back I donated it to the computer museum in Cambridge, UK. Btw, there are english drivers and software for it (including the jogdial software) ... if you want to put not-japanese windows on it.

  • @EvanNakagawa
    @EvanNakagawa4 ай бұрын

    Had no idea this thing existed, very cool! All I remember is the Vaio P

  • @ElecPi
    @ElecPi4 ай бұрын

    The man is back! Hope everything is going fine in your house shift!

  • @s1opp
    @s1opp4 ай бұрын

    By the time this came out I already owned a Sony VAIO PCG-C1 picturebook, running Win 98 ME. Still have it, and it still works

  • @revolvant
    @revolvant4 ай бұрын

    Welcome back. Yep, that's a cute little device.

  • @kaijukebox
    @kaijukeboxАй бұрын

    I'm so glad you compared this to the ASUS Transformer, which I used with Windows 8 in middle school and immediately thought of when I saw this Sony XP mini laptop. Thank you for these videos! Subcribed.

  • @Eppopower
    @Eppopower4 ай бұрын

    It's been a while! Welcome back!😅

  • @jdmweeb8663
    @jdmweeb86634 ай бұрын

    I absolute love VAIO computers

  • @NotAbitail
    @NotAbitail4 ай бұрын

    I have a old Sony Vaio that was my Mom's. It was a Windows XP computer but has the old Windows logo on the keyboard as well. It also makes the VAIO startup sound.

  • @greasy9
    @greasy94 ай бұрын

    Hello from London 🎉 super video

  • @lc7ineo
    @lc7ineo4 ай бұрын

    Wow, so Sony designers are working for GPD now? Look at the VAIO NX PC's vs the GPD Win3 and this U1 vs the GPD Win Max 2, I love it!

  • @Unan1mouz
    @Unan1mouz4 ай бұрын

    Even I didn't know this device existed back then! And I was obsessed with netbooks/mini laptops... Haha

  • @maxito9984
    @maxito99842 ай бұрын

    this vaio fits the frutiger aero aesthetic perfectly

  • @waterup380
    @waterup3803 ай бұрын

    remember seeing that in the Sony magazine at the time

  • @biglevian
    @biglevian4 ай бұрын

    Nice one! Is the thing under the space bar also a mouse input like a mini touchpad.

  • @smileyface8124
    @smileyface81242 күн бұрын

    rare footage of a newborn vaio

  • @exodous02
    @exodous023 ай бұрын

    My main travel notebooks is the GPD Win Max. It's big enough for me and now with VR headsets I don't even need anything that large, just a keyboard. I missed the netbook PCs, I always wanted one but never had the money. Something this small back then was underpowered but now something this size is just as good as a full sized notebook.

  • @justsimplywindy
    @justsimplywindy4 ай бұрын

    As always, another great entertaining video.

  • @OldRobloxRedux
    @OldRobloxRedux3 ай бұрын

    1:50 hmm, i like the jingle, im gonna set this as my startup sound for a old school computer from somewhere back in 2006 (i can see that cuz it has a windows xp sticker and a intel core 2 duo sticker) that i got (btw my school didn't need it anymore meaning they gave me permission to get it, welp i got 2 of them, the windows vista was really broken and barely even works sometimes but the windows xp one was working no problem)

  • @alexandertikanis5236
    @alexandertikanis52364 ай бұрын

    nice video

  • @kommanderkeen
    @kommanderkeen4 ай бұрын

    Wow never saw one of it before

  • @angieandretti
    @angieandretti3 ай бұрын

    I very nearly bought one of these second-hand twenty years ago, but I ended up choosing a Vaio Picturebook instead. Imagine a widescreen version of the U1, with a much more usable keyboard. It still had the infamous Transmeta Crusoe processor, topping out at 867MHz in my model. I ran Windows 2000 on it, not XP, and I remember it running pretty smoothly actually. It was plenty powerful enough for web browsing, office applications, and watching DivX DVD rips on the go. Lots of fun!

  • @DEJ915
    @DEJ9153 ай бұрын

    I picked up a U3 ages ago to replace my old C1XF and it wasn't any faster which was hilarious but it does run a lot cooler and that old C1 was hot. Only thing that was a bummer is the moving clip bit that causes the screen to go off is broken off.

  • @CvetanSavov1996
    @CvetanSavov19964 ай бұрын

    Good Video

  • @anthonysullivan5197
    @anthonysullivan51974 ай бұрын

    Imagine Ayaneo making a homage to the PCG-U1!

  • @RowanBird779
    @RowanBird7793 ай бұрын

    Windows 3D pinball was originally included with the Plus! 95 expansion pack for Windows 95. Pinball will run on any half-decent computer

  • @ok_iot
    @ok_iot2 ай бұрын

    I also worked on one of these. Around the eeepc era

  • @yogadebra
    @yogadebra3 ай бұрын

    Love your videos! I wonder if you would give your opinion on which I should buy to replace my still ok 2010 15”MBP running Monterey via OCLP. An M1 MacBook Air or MBP? I value your thoughts and thanks in advance.

  • @SourDisc
    @SourDisc4 ай бұрын

    i was not ready for that "ka-wa-ii 😩💞"

  • @ILOVEBENGKULU
    @ILOVEBENGKULU4 ай бұрын

    ka wa eee😭😂

  • @csbassin
    @csbassin4 ай бұрын

    Anyone ever wondered why Sony had a crush with fonts that look like the Spiderman 3 logo? (Look at the keyboard, it's a different font, but same style)

  • @coolunusual
    @coolunusual3 ай бұрын

    2002 mini laptop and still has more IO than modern laptops. I know that's an old point but damn even this. Also that external better is pretty neat for typing

  • @nathan_tasker
    @nathan_tasker4 ай бұрын

    Yet another wonderfully entertaining and informative video, Nathan. Excellent work as always.

  • @Reevesy95
    @Reevesy954 ай бұрын

    Yo! Was that a cucumber Joe pin? Are teasing a cold ones podcast appearance haha 😂

  • @leonardoliveira
    @leonardoliveira3 ай бұрын

    There is an updated sound driver for XP SP1 on the archives (og driver only worked on RTM XP) I uploaded, that should solve your issues with the sound driver

  • @old_liquid
    @old_liquid3 ай бұрын

    I learned last year that Transmeta x86 recompiler was based off licensed russian MCST or Baikal code (i dont remember which one) and that code still used today to power x86 translator of said processors. Updated ofcourse.

  • @austinsoman
    @austinsoman2 ай бұрын

    psiverwi please make a video on the HP PAVILION DV6000 i would like to see one of those laptops once again!

  • @DrVaults
    @DrVaults3 ай бұрын

    What watch are you wearing? I want one it looks so elegant 😊

  • @ST-RTheProtogen
    @ST-RTheProtogen4 ай бұрын

    It's a good day when I wake up and see a subnotebook video from the man himself!

  • @NikoKourouklis
    @NikoKourouklis4 ай бұрын

    You should review a Toshiba Qosmio X505, a brilliant 18.4" laptop from 2010.

  • @TheSpotify95
    @TheSpotify954 ай бұрын

    I've never seen a laptop that small before! That thing looked tiny - certainly would have been useful though. And who can't forget XP - I still have an XP laptop lying around :)

  • @UdoKrawallo
    @UdoKrawallo4 ай бұрын

    Sounds like a fair deal. You can borrow it for the video and in turn clean it up 😎

  • @tudtar3922
    @tudtar39223 ай бұрын

    I want one too. Where'd you found it?

  • @Animalmother80
    @Animalmother804 ай бұрын

    Very neat little device, I did not know it even exists. I am also into collecting old laptops, especially Sony Vaios. My gems are two PCG-C1 picture books, one with Pentium II 400MHz and one with a Transmeta Crusoe CPU as well.

  • @dmitriinikolaev917
    @dmitriinikolaev91723 күн бұрын

    Very interesting device. Japanese guys made a lot of unusual things for their internal market.

  • @Hadisabetghadam
    @Hadisabetghadam4 ай бұрын

    This Channel Turning into JanusCycle And ThisDoesNotCompute😂❤

  • @claymcguire2818
    @claymcguire28184 ай бұрын

    YOO NEW VID

  • @maxa3963
    @maxa39633 ай бұрын

    Is eucalyptus oil sponsored or you just love it ?

  • @CoffeeOnRails
    @CoffeeOnRails4 ай бұрын

    I had an old Vaio that had an identical jingle on boot. I miss that thing. It was so cool. Fingerprint reader, big screen. Vaio was always cool.

  • @CesareVesdani
    @CesareVesdani4 күн бұрын

    Do Micro laptops like this still exist with Windows 11?

  • @rtv-gaming
    @rtv-gaming4 ай бұрын

    The vaio animation is so good

  • @frokfrdk
    @frokfrdk4 ай бұрын

    I've always loved these tiny little laptops, these and the Toshiba Librettos are incredible (and I want them)

  • @83kaszas
    @83kaszas4 ай бұрын

    Man of culture! tries Quake3Arena on it!

  • @ChrisEbz
    @ChrisEbz3 ай бұрын

    What's even more Rare?!.. The DRIVERS!....

  • @sgtpeppers3021
    @sgtpeppers30213 ай бұрын

    Where can I find the credits song? It’s great!

  • @Itsraminstech
    @Itsraminstech4 ай бұрын

    You’re BAAACKKK

  • @x689thanatos
    @x689thanatos3 ай бұрын

    1:52 it was the sound most if any sony laptotp did at startup. Can be disabled in bios... Feel like they wanted to do like Apple.

  • @adiposerex5150
    @adiposerex51504 ай бұрын

    Pretty sure I had one of these in English. I loved minis. My source was Asian online but I can’t recall the store.

  • @jlj945
    @jlj9454 ай бұрын

    What are the markings on that CPU? It looks extremely similar to a PowerPC G3 or G4.

  • @richardwang9315
    @richardwang93154 ай бұрын

    GPD WIN's Ancestor (along with other Vaio UMPCs like the UX, P, etc) 😊

  • @anon_y_mousse
    @anon_y_mousse4 ай бұрын

    Yep, going to look up where and for how much to buy a GPD now. Keyboards are always a compromise for me, but screw it, I want a tiny laptop.

  • @Raptor50aus
    @Raptor50aus4 ай бұрын

    I have 2 x Sony Vaio UX with the first ever SSD drive

  • @a.windowsuser
    @a.windowsuser4 ай бұрын

    The slow performance (other than being caused by the CPU being very slow and underpowered) is certainly due to the 1.8-inch hard drive. The 1.8-inch hard drives found in these laptops were actually the same ones used in Apple iPods back in the day before they switched to flash storage near the end of their mainstream life. They were never really intended to be used in a laptop or computer that constantly and frequently accesses the disk for reading and writing during use. Upgrading that to an SSD will definitely improve the performance when it comes to the boot up time and launching applications, although the CPU will remain a bottleneck for CPU-intensive applications regardless.

  • @Stealth86651
    @Stealth866514 ай бұрын

    I always loved the UMPC/netbook form factor, took awhile for the tech to catch up but they were still neat. Loved my old N810, that thing had so much functionality.

  • @pacershark452
    @pacershark4523 ай бұрын

    An intresting device. A little more power and it couls have been of some use. Also, Since you didn't mention it, i'll presume it doesn't have blutooth.

  • @user-sf5iq2fl1l
    @user-sf5iq2fl1l3 ай бұрын

    Thats what i would do in 2002 ( i was there), playing age of empires 2!

  • @ProDigit80
    @ProDigit804 ай бұрын

    No HDD upgrade? 😢

  • @RyzesTechZone
    @RyzesTechZone4 ай бұрын

    What a cool mini PC! I wonder if Linux could give it some kind of modern-day usability. Definitely would have some quirks if has to emulate x86 🤔

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